Newcastle striker Andy Carroll will not be elevated from the England Under-21
side to the senior squad for the start of the Euro 2012 qualifiers despite
his free-scoring start to the season.

Former England and Newcastle striker Malcolm Macdonald backed Carroll, 21, to win full international honours after his hat-trick in a stunning 6-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday.

Although the performance was witnessed by Fabio Capello’s assistants, Franco Baldini and under-21 coach Stuart Pearce, it is understood the England hierarchy view Carroll as a raw talent not quite ready for full international football.

Instead of being selected for the Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Switzerland next month, Carroll will be handed the chance to maintain his development with the under-21s this autumn. Pearce’s side face make-or-break games against Portugal and Lithuania as they attempt to secure a place in next year’s finals in Denmark.

For his part, Carroll insisted that he will not be distracted by speculation over his international future.

“Newcastle is No 1 for me, really,” Carroll said. “This is where I want to play my football and score goals. I’ll just see what happens with England. To go out there, wear No 9 and get a hat-trick in the Premier League has to be what it’s all about.

“I was looking forward to coming out at home with No 9 on, with the result we got, and me scoring three goals, it was just a fantastic feeling.

“I was delighted with it. That’s all I could have wished for, really, especially after just getting promoted and against a top-five team. It was just a great day for everyone.”

Carroll’s team-mate, the Argentina international Jonás Gutiérrez, believes his colleague should not be fast-tracked into the England team by Capello.

“He has improved a lot since I arrived,” Gutiérrez said. “He can still learn a lot. We have to take care with him. He is young, so we can’t say that this is a big season for him.

“He has a big future and if he is intelligent and clever then he can be a big, big player for the England football team. Andy is young. He has been in the under-21s. He needs to be clever and he needs to take care with everything he does this season.

"If he does the right things then he can be there. He is better in the under-21s for the moment because he still has to go step by step. He has a great opportunity to go that far though.”

Carroll’s childhood hero Alan Shearer, who became Newcastle’s record goalscorer when he sported the club’s No 9 jersey, has paid tribute to the incumbent.

“I was delighted that Andy had, if you like, the guts the take the No 9 shirt because we know that players over the years have shied away from it,” said the former Newcastle and England captain.

“It is a big responsibility because it is a huge shirt. There have been some big names that have worn the shirt and some great players. I am not talking about myself there. I am talking about the Milburns, the Macdonalds and the Ferdinands and other players like that.”